Science & Tech · Science & Environment · 3 days ago
A 2,000-year-old Chinese heated bed offers lessons for staying warm
The kang is a heated platform-bed used in northern China for at least 2,000 years.
It is built into a home and connected to the kitchen stove, so hot air from cooking passes through channels beneath it.
The bed stores heat and releases it slowly, keeping people warm under blankets even when the room is cold.
Unlike central heating, it does not need to warm every room, and cooking fires provide much of its heat.
That can mean warmth with less fuel, a useful idea as energy bills remain high and many people struggle to heat their homes.
The system takes skill to build and maintain, and poor ventilation can create a carbon monoxide risk.
The researcher says traditional methods could offer lessons for the UK as it looks for efficient ways to stay warm without relying on fossil fuels.
A traditional heated platform-bed used in northern China for at least 2,000 years offers a way to stay warm while using less fuel.
Called a kang, the raised earth-brick bed is warmed by hot air from the family stove passing through channels beneath it.
The bed stores heat and releases it over many hours, while the room can remain cold.
The article argues that heating people and the spaces they use, rather than an entire home, may offer lessons for the UK.
The article was written by Yangang Xing, an architecture and construction researcher at Nottingham Trent University.
- Who
- Yangang Xing describes the kang tradition and its potential lessons.
- What
- The article explains how a heated earth-brick bed warms people using heat from a family stove.
- When
- The kang has been used in northern China for at least 2,000 years. The article was republished on October 28, 2026.
- Where
- Harbin and other parts of northern China; the article considers lessons for the UK.
- Why
- The kang provides long-lasting warmth with little fuel by heating the bed rather than the whole home.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Heated platform-beds called kangs began being used in northern China.
The article was originally published by The Conversation.
The Independent republished the article.
- Name
- Kang
- Construction
- Raised platform-bed made of earth bricks
- Heating method
- Hot air from the family stove passes through channels beneath the bed
- Heat storage
- Hundreds of kilograms of compacted earth release heat over many hours
- Author
- Yangang Xing, Associate Professor at Nottingham Trent University
- Republished
- The Independent, October 28, 2026
What people are saying
But for all its drawbacks, the kang delivered something modern heating systems still struggle to deliver: long-lasting warmth with very little fuel.
We need efficient, low-energy ways to stay warm that don’t rely on heating an entire home with fossil fuels.